The Causeway was commissioned by the owner of a local dredging company, Ben T. Davis, in the late 1920s to provide a more direct link between Tampa and Clearwater.

The only current land route at that time required travelling over 30 miles (48 km) around the northern shore of Tampa Bay, through the community of Oldsmar.

At the time of its completion, the Davis Causeway was the longest over-water fill across an open body of water in the United States.

[2] Soon after the Davis Causeway opened, agitation began to have the State Road Department purchase it and remove the toll.

Unlike the battle over the acquisition of the Gandy Bridge between Tampa and St. Petersburg, the owners of Davis Causeway remained realistic concerning the probability of the state acquiring their investment.

In 2007, the Florida DOT conducted a study to further enhance the Causeway with the addition of a recreational trail, supplanting the less-used frontage road on the north side.